Desperate Measures
by FallenAngelofFangirls
Summary: WARNING: Characters portrayed as older than in canon. Raivis (Latvia) has never been too happy with his life. He is 17, addicted to alcohol, has never had interest in girls, and has self harm scars. Peter (Sealand) is Raivis' best friend, with a secret crush on him. If Raivis decides he will hurt himself drastically in a suicide attempt, how will this change both of their lives?
1. Chapter 1

**The way this story will work is will put the name of the character talking in bold at the top of the Chapter/section of story, and they will talk. Pretty simple. Once again, these characters are older (Latvia about 17, Sealand about 15), and hence have different personalities. Because people change. So if you want to see Latvia shake in fear or Sealand be desperate to become a country, LEAVE NOW. Also, characters will be using human names.**

**Sealand:**

I run down the hospital hallway, right beside the gurney Raivis is on, who is currently being put under so they can get near him without being whipped in the face by his bloodied fist. I feel my eyes water up. _Why were you so stupid to do this, Raivis? _I feel one of tears roll down my face. _No, none of this now. _I force the tears back and push on to keep up with the gurney.

"Peter!"

_Shit, he's here! _

"**Peter!**" Arthur's voice rings out again, this time more frustrated.

I keep running.

"Peter, please stop!" It's Tino's sweet voice this time.

We near the ER. Because this isn't the first time I've had to do this, I know I won't be let in, and just freeze where I am.

_What the hell do they want from me?! _I whip my head around my shoulder to find they're closer than I thought. I'm only able to turn around and put my hands up to my ribs when I feel the stinging on my left cheek, and Arthur's hand is across my face. I feel the tears return to my eyes. My knees buckle and I cower, like a dog that has disobeyed his owner. I hear indistinguishable yelling- at me, at Tino, at Arthur- and sink to the ground with my head in my hands. _I can't do this much longer…_ In a blurred picture that is my vision, I see a hand being held out to me, with a latex glove. My 'legal guardians' have been pushed off to the sides. I take the hand, and there is muffled speaking while I get balanced on my feet again. I look over to see the focusing image of the hospital worker looking at me.

"What?" I yell, trying to get the word past the hearing block I get whenever I get anxious.

The man catches me as I fall over again. He repeats himself, and all I hear is 'friend' and 'survive.' I immediately right myself, remembering the reason I'm here -and it's not to have anxiety attacks.

"What about my friend? Is Raivis okay?" I ask, but it sounds more like pleading.

He nods and smiles. "You can go into his room in a couple of hours, when he will probably wake. But first we need to ask you a few questions, if you are up to it."

I contemplate it, then nod, knowing it'll be for the sake of Raivis.

"What is your relationship with Raivis?"

"I am his friend…"

"Anything else? You can say anything, we won't tell anyone."

"I have had a crush on him for awhile…"

"Okay. Why did he try to commit suicide?"

"He dislikes his life. He is addicted to alcohol, and like guys. He gets teased for it at school."

"Alright, that is all we need to know. Thank you very much. We will do our best for him."

"Thank you."

I walk out of the room and up to the front desk.

"Which room is Raivis Galante?"

"Room 394."

"Thank you."

I walk to the elevator, teasing myself. Then I run all the way up the stairs, and navigate to his room. When I reach it, he is still asleep. I smile gently at his easy breathing. _That's good. What's bad? _His head is wrapped in bandages, as are his arms, where the blood began to show slightly. Reading the clipboard at the end of the bed, I find his right ankle is sprained and his right leg is broken in the shin bone. I frown deeply. _He hates wheelchairs. The idiot is going to ask for crutches. _I walk over to check the blood on the arm bandages. Dry. Good. He is probably not bleeding anymore. I sit down with one of his hands in mine.

My eyes open to light coming through the previously dark window. Raivis is awake and a little dazed, but hungry and getting breakfast for the both of us. Arthur is asleep in a chair with his phone still in his hand. I snicker, which gains me a look and warm smile from Raivis.

Once the nurse leaves, our conversation begins.

**I am sorry for the choppy parts of this chapter, but I wanted to get it out there and see the general reaction. This story came straight from by disturbing and demented imagination, so your welcome. I promise more chapters, because this is one of my favorite things to write. Sorry to those who dislike it, but no hate comments. Please. It's just childish. I will thank Marianas Trench here (my favorite band) for making the music that I listened to for the entire morning so far.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope this is as good as the first. I'm glad that someone enjoyed it so far.**

**Sealand:**

He looks at me.

"Soooooo…"

"Why the hell did you do that?!" I say in the loudest tone I can without waking Arthur.

He sighs. "You know why."

"No, I really don't." My snappy tone earns me a small slap with his bandaged hand.

"I'm serious. I didn't plan it like this. I thought it would be quick. Not painless, but quick. I thought that I would be dead by the time the ambulance got there. I didn't want it to…"

"You didn't want it to be so complicated. You wanted it to be easy!" I yell, for real this time, and head for the door.

"NO! That's not it!" He scrambles to move, but can't get out the bed. He realizes he can't feel his legs and lets out a scream, which attracts the befuddled me back. I watch as he flings the covers off and looks at them questionably, poking and flicking them. Sighing, I walk over and pull the covers back over him.

"They are real."

"B-but, I can't feel 'em! Are they paralyzed?! I hate wheelchairs!"

I look down at my feet. "The right one is broken, with a sprained ankle. It's anesthetic."

"Oh."

_That's all your going to say!?_

"Um, listen, that's not the idea I wanted you to have earlier." He connected back to the old conversation.

"Then what did you want me to think?!" I almost tried to leave again, but he grabbed my wrist.

"I tried to make it fast so you wouldn't suffer so much in the process."

I felt the tears from last night return again. However, I went from sad to angry to confused pretty quickly, violently pulling my wrist from his grip, then sitting back down.

"But…" I begin.

He cuts me off. "Just… listen. I understand you really like me as your friend, and you care about me. But here's the problem. I don't like me. Okay?"

"As a friend?" I mutter to myself.

He hears, and his face shows it. _Shit. This is not going to be good._

The surprise on his face doesn't fade. "What do you mean? D-do you like me?"

"Y… yeah." I look at my feet again; I can't look at him any more. I feel my face set on fire.

"Um… Then I'm really sorry. This must be harder to take." I look up, and his face is totally red. Tears are barely visible in his eyes. _Oh, dear._ They begin to run down his face. He looks aver at me.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!" He yells, hugging me and crying on my shoulder.

And the yelling wakes Arthur up.

He looks at the scene of Raivis upset and me slightly confused with a totally discombobulated look on his face. I almost laugh, but I thought it would be rude while Raivis was weeping on my shoulder. I hug him and rub his back in an attempt to calm him down, in vain. Arthur creeps out of the room, still very confused. I look back at Raivis, who sat back up to gather himself.

"It's fine. You had no clue. I haven't even hinted it." This attempt to calm him failed, too. Anger crept across his face.

"Why not?! I'm totally fine with it!"

"Because I was embarrass…" _Hold on. _"Wait, you're fine with it?"

He realized he let something slip. "Um… yeah, I guess I like you, too." His face turns a deep shade of red.

_I've never seen him like this…_

The nurse comes with the breakfast.

"Thank you." He doesn't look her in the eye. He just looks at his lap. She leaves.

He holds out food to me, without looking at me. _Okay, this is getting uncomfortable._

"Is something bothering you?" I ask the question right before stuffing a muffin in my face.

"N-nothing. Nothing at all."

"Raivis." I use the 'I mean business' tone.

"I… just can't believe I didn't know. I feel like a jackass."

"Well, you are."

He looks at me, hurt. I smile at him and tap his face. He punches me hard in the arm.

_Back to normal, finally._

"So, what does this mean for us?"

"I dunno."

I look at my food. Then, I throw a piece of toast at him.

"Hey!" He flicks me on the nose and puts a pancake in my face. Laughing, I pull in off and wipe the butter off my face with my sweatshirt sleeve.

When we finish our food, he falls asleep again. I have his hand in mine.

Putting my head on his bed, I fall asleep as well.

**So that's it for now. Much more to come. I listened to the same music as yesterday. I think they're my new theme songs. Please tell me how to improve.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Reader! I'm sorry for not updating yesterday, but I was playing with my little cousin. He's so awesome. I tried pretty hard to make this good, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Latvia:**

I returned home yesterday. The only repercussion for this was a silent, tearful visit from Toris. I felt terrible, but I didn't say anything. I felt my emotion was stronger that way.

I also learned something.

I hate being alone while I'm injured.

There is nothing to do. There's nothing to say. There is no noise. There is only silence. And pain. Emotional and physical pain. Luckily, that only lasted a short time. Today, Peter came to my house. And we had so much _fun._

**Sealand: (back to the end of last chapter)**

Throughout the day, we both woke up and went back to sleep repeatedly. The more time passed, the more I realized that things seemed a bit off. Raivis wasn't quite his 'I don't care what the hell you think' self. Arthur was not very talkative. Even I felt like I was someone else. That was the worst part.

Who was I?

I woke up with my face in a car window. A starry background and lustrous moon send light to dance across my face and the rest of the highway. A warm blanket is gently draped across my body. Arthur doesn't seem to notice that I'm even in the back of his car. I let out a light sigh and attempt to slowly sit up. This grabs Arthur's attention, and he lets out a long sigh.

"Peter?" He looks in the rearview mirror, his emerald eyes catching my sapphire.

"Yes?" I croak, then cough.

"I'm sorry." He looks back at the road.

"For what?" I find a water bottle hidden under a magazine in his back seat pocket.

"For hitting you…" He trailed off.

"And?"

"I'm not going to let you see Raivis anymore."

"W-what?!"

"It's too dangerous! Tino and I agreed to let you know how he feels. But we're both afraid he will do something stupid and you'll get hurt!"

"B-but… you can't do that! It's not fair!" The same old tears push forth again, and this time I let them go.

"I can do that, if it's for your safety. I'm sorry; I know he was your friend…"

"He wasn't just my friend!" I speak with the sobbing apparent in my voice.

"What do you mean by that?" He sounds genuinely confused.

"I… love him."

Something like a mix between a hiccup and a cough come forth from his vocal chords as he tries to gather what this could mean. We get the Kirkland house, and I hop out of the car. Feeling a sudden leap of rebellious hormones, and start walking down the street toward the direction of Raivis' home.

Then I run.

Then I sprint.

Arthur runs after, yelling ridiculous things, trying to get me to return to sanity, but I've lost it. All I need right now is Raivis. About an eighth of a way through the long distance to his house, the tears return and I collapse. I just can't go any further. The sun has began to rise, and I suddenly feel dizzy. A girl peers at me from the warmth of her home, and her hand goes to her mouth. She disappears and reappears outside with a blanket. Wrapping it around me, she silently holds my hand until the real me returns to my lifeless body. I look up at her.

It's Lili.

Raivis would kill me.

He won't talk about her.

His ex-girlfriend.

Arthur catches up just as Vash appears in the doorway. They talk for a moment, Arthur apologizing and explaining that he doesn't know what got into me. Lili walks with me back to the house. And stays with me until the evening. I don't speak to her- or anyone- until the afternoon. I don't even allow anyone into my room until noon. When I'm ready, I tell her everything. How Raivis tried to jump of that building. How I watched as the ambulance pulled him off the ground. How I refused to let them leave me. How I had an anxiety attack. How I confessed my love to him. How I felt so empty. How Arthur forbade me from being with him.

And she listened.

Vash came to pick her up at 7 o' clock. Arthur and Vash agreed to let me go to the Zwingli home, which delighted Lili. She helped me relax when I had insomnia. And again when I had a night terror. My first night terror… Arthur never told Vash I wasn't to go to Raivis' home. So Lili asked if he could drive me, and he dropped me off that morning.

I came in and dropped my things. No one else was there. I ran around the lower level.

Empty.

I ran around the second level.

Empty.

I felt my heart skip a beat and started to panic. Then I remembered. Raivis has access to his roof. I climbed the spiraling staircase up to the trapdoor, pushing on it ever so slightly, catching glimpse of his back, covered in his thick parka-style coat. A red scarf cascades in the autumn breeze. I slip through the door and crawl into the familiar spot next to him. I put my hand on his. He looks over at me; his cheeks and nose are pink from the brisk air. The smirk that inhabits his face is of relief. He pulls me into a hug and we look silently into the distant city. And the conversation sparks.

**Thank you for reading, and please give me some constructive criticism. Also, I have a poll running, if you get the chance to vote! I hope to update again by next weekend. With that, have a good week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello. I probably would have updated earlier, but I had to have a pet put down suddenly last night. R.I.P. Bear, my mother's little baby ferret. I hope you enjoy this. I kinda just whipped together so tell me if I did something stupid.**

**Sealand:**

"So, where is everyone?" I look to his amethyst eyes.

"Ivan will be here later tonight." He looks past the tall guard rails surrounding his roof, into the distant mountains.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I'm… not sure. Glad, but nervous."

"I'm not supposed to be here."

He looks at me with his eyebrows raised. "Why not?"

"Arthur thinks you're too dangerous."

He then rolls his eyes and looks back into the mountains. "That's so stupid. What does he think I am, some insane 'everyone should die now' idiot? I was just unhappy…"

"I know, but he's really… concerned that I'll do the same to be like you. Like jumping off the bridge because everyone else is. The fact that I hang out with you instead of the 'normal' people should totally disprove that, but he's not looking at the big picture." I look into the mountains, too. They are truly beautiful, but I know that we have more dreadful things to talk about.

"Raivis?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like me?" I look at him.

"Y-yeah." He looks at me, then moves his hand around me shoulders, pulling me into his side.

"Okay." I curl into him. "Can you tell Ivan to not tell Arthur when I'm here? I'll just tell him Lili's tutoring me."

"Sure." He closes his eyes and lets the wind run through his hair. He looks so peaceful on the outside, and I've never seen him like this before. I begin to wonder if it's just an act when I look at the cast that contains his leg. He opens his eyes again and pulls out his vibrating phone. Ivan's calling. He answers it, turning away from me.

"Hey."

"When?"

"Oh, alright."

"Um, I need you to do me a really big favor."

"Let Peter come over without telling anyone. Arthur and Tino don't want him over here."

"Thank you!"

"I don't care."

"I have no clue ."

"Alright."

"Love you too." He rolls his eyes playfully.

"See ya."

He ends the call.

"Did he agree to the favor?" I ask.

"Yeah. He also asked what I wanted for dinner. And if I mind letting him talk to you. You don't mind that right?"

I swallow nervously. "Nope."

"Perfect. Let's play video games." He stands up slowly, and I have to help him down the stairs.

**Latvia:**

I lose to him on every round of Marvel VS Capcom we play. At about 11 o' clock at night, Ivan walks in with Subway for all 3 of us.

Peter goes upstairs and calls Lili to explain the situation to her and Vash, so they won't tell anyone, with many noises of disapproval from me. With a bit of persuasion from Lili, Vash agrees to not tell and drive him home on weeknights. He texts athur, saying he will spend the night at Lili's again tonight and that Vash will drive him home tomorrow. I act sour toward him for a bit for hanging out with _her_, but quit about halfway through dinner. I just… can't stay angry at him.

Ivan falls asleep on one of the couches, so we put a blanket. While we watch the Avengers, Peter drifts off on my shoulder. I copy the action about a fourth of the way into Thor, and we sleep side by side until Ivan wakes us for breakfast.

And we sing to Cross My Heart, often messing up.

And I'm almost happy.

**Thank you for reading! This is Cross My Heart by Marianas Trench, put it after typing **** .com****: /watch?v=bj9PwHuEjx8 Constructive criticism, please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry that this is so late! I was lucky to get this up tonight, honestly. Holidays are coming up, and my teachers are certainly not making this easy, either. Anyway, I hope you have been well, and please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated greatly!**

**Peter:**

I eat slowly with a dwindling appetite, as Raivis stuffs his face rapidly. I haven't been able to do such a thing for a while, and sometimes I miss it. But my self esteem broke the first day the guys at school began to tease me, having been fragile after social rejection.

That day was the day Raivis became my friend.

He found me in the bathroom, weeping in the corner. He came and asked me what my problem was. I told him to leave me alone. He stood around for awile, then pulled a steel bottle out of his backpack and took a long drink from it. When he finished, he asked me if I wanted any. I nodded, thinking it was water. He smirked and handed to me. Then the smell hit me, and I hacked. When I asked what it was, he said vodka. I gave him a look like he was insane, and he rolled his eyes. He told me to try it. I stood up and poured it down the sink.

And he beat me up until I was crying for mercy. Which was after about a minute.

He screamed at me about how much he needed that, not hesitating to get about an inch from my face. Being this close to his face, I noticed he had dark rings under his bloodshot eyes. I pushed him away from me because the alcohol on his breath was making me dizzy. At this point, we have both been called down to the office multiple times. But he doesn't care, and he certainly will not let me leave. I decide to take out my lunch and eat what I can keep down. While I do so, he watches silently. After a while, he asked me why I don't eat. I said that I was eating. He looked at me, confused. Then he asked me if I called that eating. He came over and told me what to eat. And I ate it. Then he looked at me as though he had accomplished something for the first time in his life. I felt good for a minute, but the realized he made me eat everything. Being extremely conscious of my appearance, I went into a stall and began to hack it all up. He then stepped away, and when I was done and looked back at him, he looked very disturbed. I sat against the wall, and began to weep again. He sat next to me and put his hand on my arm, making me look up. He hugged me and asked for my number. I asked why, and he said he wanted to look after me.

Because I was his friend. And I needed help.

As though he didn't.

Anyway, enough about our past. Back to now.

Ivan walked into the room after a while after making a call to his sisters to tell them he was safe.

"You should eat," he said while looking at my full plate.

Raivis shot him a death stare. He looked befuddled, but not afraid.

"Raivis," I say. "It's okay. He's right, I should."

"But…" Raivis begins.

"I should eat." I look at my place nervously and begin to put things in my mouth. I struggle to swallow them as they are rejected from my esophagus. When the plate is clean, I lean back and tilt my head up to the ceiling, feeling very nauseous. Then I realize I cannot keep it down. I run to the bathroom and throw up. Raivis follows me, and rubs my back as I vomit, which makes the extremely uncomfortable and slightly painful experience a little bit closer to okay.

When I come back into the kitchen, Ivan summons me for the aforementioned chat.

"Are you okay?" he asks as I swallow painfully and try to finish gathering myself.

"Yeah." I somehow manage to choke the single word up.

"So, I am wondering why you bother to try to help Raivis. He doesn't listen to many people, and I certainly don't think one of those people will be you, considering you've only been his friend for about two years and those who he trusts have known him for his entire life." He says this is a monotone, obviously trying to hide his concern with my episode and his distrust in my influence upon Raivis.

"I stay because I love him," I say looking at my feet.

"Really?" I look up at his surprised face, and nod.

"I think he's amazing. I have since we truly met. I don't know why, but he makes my laugh with his corny jokes. And I think he deserves a better life then what he's got right now." I feel heat spread across my face as I blush.

"Okay." He says, smiling. "Don't be afraid to let me know if he becomes too much. I know he can be a bit hard to take sometimes."

"Thank you," I respond, smiling back.

We both walk back into the room where a bored Raivis sits, playing with his glass of water. He looks up and smirks at me.

"Ready to go home?" he questions.

"No, but I think I probably should," I say, letting out a long sigh.

He stands up and wobbles over to me while I text Vash, telling him I'm ready to go. He throws his arms around me and kisses to top of my head. I feel my heart beat faster and another blush creep across my still pink face. We stand like that for a while until Vash tells me he's a few minutes away. I break away, and he looks at me, chuckling sweetly. He then limps back over to the chair. Ivan tends to him while I get my coat on. I look at him as I'm about to walk out the door. I hesitate, but eventually my heart wins over my brain. I run over to him and plant a quick kiss on his cheek before hugging him, waving to Ivan, and darting out the door as Vash pulls up. I get a text about nine minutes later:

_Why wasn't it on the lips?_

**Thanks for reading through this chapter to the end… I don't feel that great about it. Next chapter will be from Raivis' point of view, I promise. I know I haven't done much of that. I meant to do that with this one, but I decided to point out that Peter has flaws, too… Anyway, I'm rambling. I wish you happy days until I update again! Which will hopefully be soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Peter:**

The rest of autumn came and left, as days upon days continued like these. I went to school, then to Raivis' house, then home. And things were okay. Until the final week before Christmas break.

I was particularly nauseous and dizzy the day before school was out. I got sick right after breakfast, so Arthur let me stay home. He still had to go to work, so I was alone. I got bored rather quickly, so I called Raivis. He was home, as always. He still hadn't returned to school. We talked over the phone for a while. Then he said he had to go. I said goodbye sadly. However, about 15 minutes later, Ivan's car pulled up, and Raivis jumped out. He came inside with a huge smile on his face while Ivan drove away.

"Surprise!" he said, giving me a huge hug.

"Yes, this was a surprise. You could've said you were coming!" I replied, but I couldn't stay flustered for long. I was too grateful for his coming to be angry.

"But that would've been half as fun!" He pulled out of our hug and kissed my cheek. I pulled off his jacket and threw it on the coffee table in front of me.

Sitting next to me, he held his arm out, and I curled into him. We sat in silence for a little while, but he got bored.

"When is Arthur coming home?"

"Around 2. You can stay until 1:30, but then you should leave. Who knows what he would do if he found you here."

He frowned. "I think I could risk 1:45."

"Nope," I said. "You have to go at 1:30, just in case. I don't want to be grounded. I wouldn't be able to see you for a long time, especially because he would start driving me to Lili's instead of having Vash pick me up, and then I won't end up going to your house."

He rolled his eyes. We sat for another few minutes, then he got up and turned on my Xbox. He threw me a remote, and we played Castle Crashers for a long time. 12:30 rolled around way too soon.

Then, I heard the grandfather clock toll for 1 o' clock in the hallway.

"You have to go soon." I didn't look at him when I said it.

"I know." He didn't look at me either.

He texted Ivan. He didn't let me see his phone, but decided not to worry about it. When the grandfather clock tolled for 2:30, I began to worry. When, 2:45 rolled up, I told Raivis to text him again. He did when I told him to, but 2 o' clock came about and no one came to get Raivis. I told him to go to my room and hide in my closet, concerned that Arthur would see him.

And, just as I thought, Arthur came home at 2:05. I began to get a cold sweat on my forehead, but I pretended not to notice. He came in and hung his coat up. When he walked through the living room, he smiled sadly at me. I smiled back, and he left to make himself tea. I sighed and tried to play video games like nothing was wrong. He came in and sat next to me, watching me play. He looked at the coffee table and his face turned concerned.

"Whose jacket is that?" he asked, his voice showing his worry.

I got choked up, and just made a couple quiet noises.

He stood up, grabbed my arm, and looked me straight in the eye.

"**Whose coat is that?**" He asked again, holding steady despite my struggling.

"I-it's… It's…" I started slowly, becoming frantic.

"**WHOSE?!**" He got close to my face. I heard a noise in the hallway, and saw Raivis' shadow.

_Damn! I can't lie now! _I looked at my feet. "It's Raivis' coat." I felt the tears push into my eyes.

"**Is he still here?**" His words were intense and bitter.

"No," I lied. But it was too obvious. He slapped me hard on the right cheek.

"**That was a lie,**" he said angrily. "**Where is he?**"

"I'm right here, shitface." Raivis' words were those of a smart ass, and you could hear his cocky tone clearly.

He was smirking, and was standing like he was ready for a fight.

"**You don't **_**belong**_** there, you bastard.**" Arthur wasn't getting any kinder, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let me be alone for another day of my life. I sat lifelessly on the couch, tears streaming down my cheeks incessantly. I wanted to help, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything.

"This is exactly where I belong. Here, with Peter. Because I love him." His words were sharp, and his hands clenched into tight fists.

"**You are just a bad influence on him. You want to use him, and nothing else.**" With this, Raivis lunged at him, grabbing his throat. I tried to yell. Nothing came out except a shrill scream. Arthur struggled and choked, but in vain. Raivis had him down on the ground, and wouldn't let him go.

"_You will take that back. You will say I love him and that I will be able to see him whenever I'd like because you know I wouldn't hurt him if my life depended on it._" He said this through clenched teeth. Arthur just shook his head. Raivis went rabid.

"_I WILL TAKE YOU OUT NOW. YOU BETTER AGREE __**RIGHT NOW.**_" He got only inches from Arthur's face. Arthur nodded rapidly, frantic to save his life. I was crying so hard that my eyes forced themselves shut, but I opened them quickly. Raivis let Arthur go, and the latter gasped for breath. Raivis stood up and glared at Arthur as he did the same. He glanced at me, and his hard face went soft. He ran around Arthur over to me. I held out my arms, and his wrapped around my torso. I buried my face in the crook between his shoulder and his neck. His hair brushed my face, dampened by my tears. I looked out at Arthur. His eyes were wet with tears, and his hand was to his face.

My heart quickened as Raivis lifted me up and held me like a groom holds a bride. I blushed as he nuzzled my face and gave me Eskimo kisses. Arthur looked at Raivis, and Raivis stared back.

"Listen, Raivis. I know now how much you love Peter. And he loves you back." He looked at the ground and cleared his throat. "I feel terrible for keeping you two apart. I will let you see Peter now, but not every waking moment. You have to wait until I trust you more, just like any other friend or lover Peter would have." Raivis smiled and nodded. Arthur looked at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry that I didn't let you see him. And that I slapped you. I lost my temper, and that was wrong." I saw tears form in his eyes and chuckled softly.

"Arthur, your being silly," I said. That got his attention.

"I will love you no matter what. Don't go getting emotional with me over a slap." He looked at me and laughed. Raivis kissed my cheek and set me down.

"I guess I should go, huh?" He didn't look at my face, just at my feet. I gave him an accusing look.

"What did you do? You never mention leaving." He continued to stare at my feet until I tapped his chin. Then he looked me in the eyes.

"I kind of got in a fight with Ivan this morning…" I sighed deeply and looked at Arthur.

"What kind of fight?" Arthur asked. "Was it physical? Or just you guys yelling?"

"It started as just yelling, but it… escalated. I may need to stay a while, unless you can get him to talk to me." Arthur sighed and looked at Raivis.

"I'll see what I can do. You can stay here in the meantime," he said.

"Thank you, Arthur," Raivis said, giving him a hug.

Raivis and I settled down together on the couch that night.

"Thank goodness your brother is good enough a person to give me a place to stay," he

said, pulling me closer to him and burying his nose in my blonde hair.

_Yeah. Thank goodness. _I drifted off, asleep on a couch with him again.


End file.
